A hunebed (Dutch for ‘Dolmen’) is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, consisting of three or more upright stones (megaliths) supporting a large flat horizontal capstone (table). Most date from the early Neolithic period (4000 BC to 3000 BC). The Netherlands have 54 of these prehistoric graves, and 52 are in the province of Drenthe. The largest one is located near the Hunnebedcentrum visitor center in Borger that we visited last Sunday.

Hunebed D27 near the visitor center in Borger

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Last Sunday we visited Boomkroonpad (‘Tree Top Path’), a 2,500 hectare (6,000 acre) forest preserve in Drenthe, here in the Netherlands. The main attraction at Boomkroonpad is a path of 125 meters (410 feet) through the tree tops, reaching a height of 22,5 meters (74 feet). Unfortunately it was pouring down on our visit and we didn’t see any birds or wildlife. But still it was an extremely fun walk that we will need to do again once when the weather is better. There is also a very nice visitor center with shop, restaurant and lots of activities and trails.

Entrance to the Boomkroonpad area

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Passengers of the Python roller coaster in the Dutch theme park De Efteling were lucky to survive a serious incident yesterday. The double-loop roller coaster (constructed in 1981) had gotten stuck at a high point of the track, with its first few cars hanging over the the incline. More »

On Saturday we visited Zeehondencrèche Lenie ‘t Hart in the town of Pieterburen in the north of the Netherlands. The seal rehabilitation and research center has been taking care of sick and injured seals since it was founded in 1971.

They do really great work and need every support they can get. You can donate money or adopt a seal. More »

On our visit of the beautiful town of Marken in Noord Holland today we sat down outside at café ‘De Visscher’ and we each ordered a hot chocolate and a piece of apple pie. The weather was beautiful and we had a great view of the harbor. Here is Amy in her FBI shirt, still unaware of the invasion that would soon follow.

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On Saturday we visited Waverhoek and Botshol, north of Utrecht, for a ranger-led boat excursion by Natuurmonumenten. We arrived about an hour early for the boat excursion, which left from number 2 on the map below, so we drove on left a little bit and came across a new nature reserve of Natuurmonumenten that just opened to the public on 30 June 2007, Waverhoek at number 1 on the map below. Until recently this triangular area was just farmland, as you can still see on this map, but they flooded the area to make a wetlands for birds.

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ONN reports that the entire Internet has crashed:

From 21 to 24 June 2007 we went to France. We first spent two days at Disneyland Paris where we stayed at Santa Fe Hotel. Then we went to Paris on Saturday and Sunday where we stayed at Hotel de la Porte Doree and visited Musée d’Orsay and Bois de Vincennes. Here are a few photos of our trip.

To view larger photos visit our photo album.

From 17 to 27 May 2007 we visited Huelva province in Andalucia, Spain. We rented Villa Laura Paraje Puente near the small town of Beas, which was a wonderful place to stay. We did some nice birding in the area’s nature reserves and visited Sevilla, Huelva, Riotinto and Tavira in Portugal. More »

Last week we came back from a vacation in Andalucia in Spain. The area is perfect for birding. Highlights for us were the Purple Gallinule, Red-knobbed Coot and Azure-winged Magpie. Another great sight were the hundreds of Stork nests on almost every electricity pole along the highway between Sevilla and Huelva. Here is a list of some great places to go birdwatching. More »